10 Secrets of the Laidback Knitters

Find a wise woman. Discover slow knitting. And learn how a ball of yarn can envelop your soul. This is a book that will make every knitter feel more like a Zen master the next time they drop a stitch.
---Linda Cortright, publisher and editor of Wild Fibers magazine
Vicki and Lisa have condensed years of fiber experience into wise and witty lessons not just for fiber, but for life. If knitting has been there to soften the rough edges of life for you, this book will speak volumes.
---Shannon Okey, knitgrrl.com
I love the way Lisa and Vicki give knitters guidelines without making rules. That's the true mentoring of creativity!
---Lorna Miser, author of The Knitter's Guide to Hand Dyed and Variegated Yarns and founder of Lorna's Laces Yarns
Vicki and Lisa give us all permission to relax, have fun and knit great things in the process. Hints and pithy advice pop up in every corner, like a lively conversation. Their well crafted stories make me f

Spoiler alert: Secret No. 1 is 'Find a wise woman.' We've found two--Stiefel and Souza.... [The] convivial dialogue is peppered with asides, profiles, a sock-knitting fable, advice and, of course, patterns.... [Stiefel and Souza] invite everyone to enjoy the easygoing conversation, blessedly free of either the perky cheerleading or snooty cliquishness that tends to put off knitters from real-life stitching circles.
--- Yarn Market News

Find a wise woman. Discover slow knitting. And learn how a ball of yarn can envelop your soul. This is a book that will make every knitter feel more like a Zen master the next time they drop a stitch.
---Linda Cortright, publisher and editor of Wild Fibers magazine
Vicki and Lisa have condensed years of fiber experience into wise and witty lessons not just for fiber, but for life. If knitting has been there to soften the rough edges of life for you, this book will speak volumes.
---Shannon Okey, knitgrrl.com
I love the way Lisa and Vicki give knitters guidelines without making rules. That's the true mentoring of creativity!
---Lorna Miser, author of The Knitter's Guide to Hand Dyed and Variegated Yarns and founder of Lorna's Laces Yarns
Vicki and Lisa give us all permission to relax, have fun and knit great things in the process. Hints and pithy advice pop up in every corner, like a lively conversation. Their well crafted stories make me feel as if I am sitting with them both, knitting and sharing secrets. ---Norah Gaughan, design director of Berroco and author of Knitting Nature and Comfort Knitting and Crochet

Spoiler alert: Secret No. 1 is 'Find a wise woman.' We've found two--Stiefel and Souza.... [The] convivial dialogue is peppered with asides, profiles, a sock-knitting fable, advice and, of course, patterns.... [Stiefel and Souza] invite everyone to enjoy the easygoing conversation, blessedly free of either the perky cheerleading or snooty cliquishness that tends to put off knitters from real-life stitching circles. Yarn Market News

Find a wise woman. Discover slow knitting. And learn how a ball of yarn can envelop your soul. This is a book that will make every knitter feel more like a Zen master the next time they drop a stitch. Linda Cortright, publisher and editor of Wild Fibers magazine

Vicki and Lisa have condensed years of fiber experience into wise and witty lessons not just for fiber, but for life. If knitting has been there to soften the rough edges of life for you, this book will speak volumes. Shannon Okey, knitgrrl.com

I love the way Lisa and Vicki give knitters guidelines without making rules. That's the true mentoring of creativity! Lorna Miser, author of The Knitter s Guide to Hand Dyed and Variegated Yarns and founder of Lorna s Laces Yarns

Vicki and Lisa give us all permission to relax, have fun and knit great things in the process. Hints and pithy advice pop up in every corner, like a lively conversation. Their well crafted stories make me feel as if I am sitting with them both, knitting and sharing secrets. Norah Gaughan, design director of Berroco and author of Knitting Nature and Comfort Knitting and Crochet

Spoiler alert: Secret No. 1 is 'Find a wise woman.' We've found two--Stiefel and Souza.... [The] convivial dialogue is peppered with asides, profiles, a sock-knitting fable, advice and, of course, patterns.... [Stiefel and Souza] invite everyone to enjoy the easygoing conversation, blessedly free of either the perky cheerleading or snooty cliquishness that tends to put off knitters from real-life stitching circles. --Yarn Market News

Find a wise woman. Discover slow knitting. And learn how a ball of yarn can envelop your soul. This is a book that will make every knitter feel more like a Zen master the next time they drop a stitch. --Linda Cortright, publisher and editor of Wild Fibers magazine

Vicki and Lisa have condensed years of fiber experience into wise and witty lessons not just for fiber, but for life. If knitting has been there to soften the rough edges of life for you, this book will speak volumes. --Shannon Okey, knitgrrl.com

I love the way Lisa and Vicki give knitters guidelines without making rules. That's the true mentoring of creativity! --Lorna Miser, author of The Knitter's Guide to Hand Dyed and Variegated Yarns and founder of Lorna's Laces Yarns

Vicki and Lisa give us all permission to relax, have fun and knit great things in the process. Hints and pithy advice pop up in every corner, like a lively conversation. Their well crafted stories make me feel as if I am sitting with them both, knitting and sharing secrets. --Norah Gaughan, design director of Berroco and author of Knitting Nature and Comfort Knitting and Crochet

VICKI STIEFEL is a writer, photographer, and passionate knitter. She is a contributor to Wild Fibers magazine and teaches writing at Clark University. She has published four novels, Body Parts, The Dead Stone, The Bone Man, and The Grief Shop, which won the Daphne du Maurier prize for Best Mainstream Mystery in 2006. Her writing and photography has also appeared in New Woman, The Harvard Post, The Improper Bostonian, and other national and regional publications. Vicki formed her local knitting group called Cindy's Knitters, as well as the LaidBack Knitters group on Ravelry along with coauthor Lisa Souza.

LISA SOUZA is an artisan dyer, colorist, handspinner, and creator of art-to-wear garments. Early in her career she and a partner started Knitwitz, where they knitted one-of-a kind garments and traveled the craft-fair circuit. Lisa then branched off to begin her own company, Lisa Souza Knitwear, creating finished garments that were sold in boutiques around the country. Soon after that, she learned to spin and began hand-dying yarn. Lisa started to offer her hand-dyed fibers to other knitters through her website lisaknit.com in 1999 where she continues to sell her hand-dyed yarns, handspun luxury yarns, and hand-dyed roving. In 2007, after moving to rural California, Lisa opened a large showroom and workshop. Lisa regularly participates in yarn fairs and festivals around the country.